"Airport security checks called too harsh for frail travelers"

Monday, February 7, 2005

Airport security checks called too harsh for frail travelers
Screenings need gentle touch, critics say
By Ken Kaye 
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel


Sharon West was appalled when her elderly parents were pulled aside for
extra screening before flying from Fort Lauderdale to Norfolk, Va., a year
ago.

Her mother, then 74, had a hard time breathing and walking, while her
father, then 75, had undergone a knee replacement.
 
Yet, they were ordered to stand with legs spread and arms out, as screeners
ran metal-detecting wands and hands over them. Today, her parents refuse to
fly.

"The indignity they felt was the fact that people were touching them," said
West, 53, of Davie. "I believe in obeying the rules, but it is insane to
treat everybody like a criminal."

The Transportation Security Administration says all passengers must be
subject to stiff screenings because a wheelchair or a baby stroller could be
laden with explosives. It cites as justification a 2003 incident in which a
.22-caliber pistol was found stashed inside a teddy bear held by a
10-year-old boy in Orlando.

"We have found artfully concealed weapons in wheelchairs, prosthetic limbs
as well as in children's toys and even on children," TSA spokeswoman Lauren
Stover said.

While critics don't dispute the need for security, they call for a more
gentle way to process elderly, very young and handicapped travelers. Their
plea comes after women complained the TSA's "pat-down" policy was too
invasive and offensive.

For most people, secondary examinations are not that big a deal. Passengers
are inspected with wands and, sometimes, physical pat-downs. They can be
asked to remove shoes and other items of clothing. In addition, their
personal belongings are carefully checked, a process that can take a total
of 15 minutes.

But for seniors and the disabled, such scrutiny can be intimidating because
of the close personal contact with screeners, say advocates for the elderly
and the handicapped.

"When you're traveling with someone who has very limited mobility, you
scratch your head when you see the intensity of the screening they go
through," said Karen Dickerhoof, executive director of the Center for
Independent Living of Broward, in Tamarac, which helps the physically
disabled.

Robert McFalls, chief executive officer of the Area Agency on Aging of Palm
Beach/Treasure Coast, agrees extra care should be taken not to offend people
with mobility problems, but he says he thinks they still should be carefully
examined.

"The bottom line is we do advocate seniors to be treated equally, and no
less than other people," he said.

Eventually, the TSA hopes technological advances will allow it to eliminate
the need for stringent secondary screenings while maintaining a high level
of security.

So-called explosives-detection portals are being tested at seven airports,
including Tampa and Jacksonville. Air is blown at passengers as they go
through the machine, and the air is analyzed for explosives. The portals are
to be tested at Miami International Airport this month.

Another device in the testing phase, using backscatter technology, would
enable screeners to see whether travelers are hiding weapons or explosives
on their persons without requiring a physical inspection.

Yet another tool, a document scanner able to detect traces of explosives on
boarding passes, is already in use at five airports.

And a program called Secure Flight would cross-reference traveler names with
those on lists of suspected terrorists or those who have been involved in
security incidents.

For now, the TSA says it must work under the current security system, which
requires airlines to randomly select between 10 and 15 percent of travelers
for extra screening. The airlines rely on computers to do this.

Passengers also might undergo additional screening if they trigger a
metal-detector alarm, or if a screener finds their appearance suspicious,
for example, because of bulky clothing.

A traveler who generates too many suspicious factors under the government's
profiling system, such as buying a one-way ticket, paying for a ticket with
cash or having a name that matches one on suspicious-name lists, might also
face extra screening.

Last year, the TSA screened more than 700 million passengers at 450
airports, with about 100 million of those undergoing secondary screenings.

During that time, the agency received about 16,800 complaints involving
courtesy, screening, baggage handling and other processing problems,
according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Elderly and handicapped travelers filed about 840 of those, according to
advocacy group estimates.

Many of the complaints blasted a pat-down policy imposed in September after
two women allegedly blew up two Russian airliners by hiding explosives under
their clothing.

The procedure called for screeners to hand-check for explosives hidden under
clothing, prompting hundreds of women to protest that they were touched
improperly. After an outpouring of complaints, the TSA in December
instructed screeners not to touch women between their breasts. The agency
also allowed passengers to put their arms down after a wand inspection, to
avoid putting them in what many perceive as a criminal-like stance.

The number of complaints specifically involving TSA screening procedures
increased sharply toward the end of last year. In July, 67 screening
complaints were filed, and 83 in August, according to the federal
government. In September, the month the pat-down policy took effect, 150
complaints were filed, followed by 385 in October and 652 in November, the
last month for which complaint information is available. Complaints
involving screener courtesy also jumped from 115 complaints in September to
690 in October.

Even before the pat-down policy, many elderly and handicapped travelers said
they, too, were excessively handled.

Bill Knight, deputy director of the Center for Independent Living of
Broward, uses a wheelchair. Last July, while flying from Fort Lauderdale to
Washington, D.C., screeners asked him to get out of his chair because they
wanted to examine his cushion.

"I refused," he said. "I can't get out of my chair. They would have had to
lift me up and put me in a regular chair in the waiting area. It seemed like
overkill to me."

The screeners relented and simply ran a wand over his chair.

Knight, 54, said many people in wheelchairs are sensitive to being touched
because under their clothing they might have external draining bags for
their bladders.

"I understand the need for security, and wheelchairs have access areas where
you could hide things," he said. "But there are private issues that could
offend some people."

Genevieve Cousminer, attorney for the Coalition for Independent Living
Options in West Palm Beach, said her husband, Harold, is usually checked
"from head to toe" whether he flies out of Miami or Palm Beach
International.

Harold Cousminer, 79, requires a wheelchair, a special machine to pump
oxygen for sleep apnea, and a white folding cane because he is legally
blind.

"What with the wheelchair and that odd machine in a carry-on bag, he always
gets a thorough search inside and out, whereas I'm allowed to just walked
through," said his wife, who has no mobility problems.

Jacob Seidenberg, 85, of Coconut Creek, was pulled aside for a secondary
screening in May, while flying from Fort Lauderdale to Washington for his
wife's funeral.

Rather than be offended, he said, he understood the necessity.

"You can take an old woman through, and she could be carrying some kind of
device," he said. "I guarantee you, if we have a few more incidents, we're
going to have a lot harsher checking."


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************